Cockeyed Cooper | Uinta Brewing Company

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Reviews by kbuzz:

A: Everything I love about a good Barleywine...clarity...alcohol legs and a crisp caramel/amber/brown color with red highlights. A thin head fades to an even thinner one rapidly...leaving a rim of eggshell bubbles around the edges.

T/M: Very complex. Lots of raisin. Figs. Definitely a bit of oak in the taste whereas I didn't get much in the nose. Bourbon at the end. Very dry...taste cuts right through your palate...clean, crisp. A touch thin for a Barleywine...not bad though. Viscous still.

O: Barrel qualities shone more and more as the beer warmed. I can't help but compare to the Abacus I reviewed a few months back...and this would get the nod from me. Fewer distracting barrel notes, but still has accents from the aging process. For a complex beer, this isn't as bourbon forward...and I thank Uinta for that.

Bottled 06/26/14, so just over a year old; the spoils of a climbing trip to Vegas that I let sit around for a few months before popping open tonight. Copper/amber almost red, huge light tan head, good clarity. Looks right. Smell is surprisingly grassy/citrus/piney hop forward, some malty caramel sweetness, but minimal bourbon or vanilla or anticipated dark fruits. Maybe I'm drinking this fresher than most. I expected more from the barrel, and a more "English" style, but it's certainly a good beer. Hoppy and American, no doubt, but balanced enough, and with some bourbon and barrel character that certainly makes it shine over your average crazy hoppy barleywine of this style. Feel is good and appropriately thick and viscous, finishing dry with that hop bitterness. Will buy again, and maybe have the patience to age a bit longer to see if it smooths out and sweetens up. If not, no worries, perfectly good as it is now.

Poured into teku glass. A clear dark mohagany brown with a 1/2 finger brown head that dissipates rather slowly leaving nice lace. Nice dried stone fruits and brown sugar in the nose. Taste follows with dried fruit, raisins, cherry, hints of bourbon and some alchohol, but unfortunately it has a slightly unpleasant bitterness that is somewhat different that a hoppy bitterness. It might appeal to some but detracted from the beer for me. Mouth is substantial, slightly viscous, sweet, but not quite cloying. Overall, a decent attempt but unfortunately it misses the mark for me.

Look: A big head of golden beads and a fluffy light gold top. For a beer with an ABV of over 11%, I can't not mention how impressive the resiliency of the head is! The clear body is medium brown, with noticeable amber highlights.

Smell: A strong, tantalizing aroma. Figs, allspice, tea leaves, and rich caramel malt are brightened by a sprig of spearmint. Not as dark as a typical barleywine, but certainly just as complex.

Taste: Medium roast coffee and caramel flavors are nicely balanced by fresh herbal hops. Dates, macadamia nuts, and dried pears add enchanting complexity. Dark and light flavors are impeccably balanced, creating a rich, yet refreshing beer sure to please both hop heads and sweet tooths. Again, this is not your typical deep, alcohol soaked, fruity barleywine, but the difference is meritorious, in my opinion. Here we have a bourbon aged high alcohol brew that manages to maintain a happy lightness: quite a feat.

Mouthfeel: Medium, milky body with moderate carbonation. The alcohol warming is apparent but not at all overwhelming, lounging comfortably toward the top of the throat. The finish is dry, but with some faint residual sweetness which dances on the roof of the mouth like fairy dust.

Overall: An exceptional beer, this has quickly become my go-to strong ale. The dense alcohol flavors one normally gets from a beer of this ABV are absent from this concoction. Instead we have a beer which, while complex, is quite SIMPLY delicious. Of course, this makes for a dangerous specimen--a crowd pleaser like this will get beer lovers of all types tipsy quite quickly; it's hard to have just one glass of this gem.

Poured a reddish amber, auburn color semi-clear color with 4-to-5 fingers of khaki tan, frothy head. Average amount of foamy lacing spots on the side of the glass. Very good retention on the top all the way down. (Sight - 4.25)

Massive head w/ a good amount of stickage. Dark rudy color has clarity in the light. Estery w/ some fusel bourbon barrel aromas, caramel, vanilla and figs for a big sweet nose. Creamy and smooth all over the full-ish body. Big bready maltiness of toasted grain, caramel and dried hay. Alcohol is very noticeable but not hot, estery with booze soaked figs. Wood and vanilla and a drying finish complete this beer.

Thanks to ericandersnavy for sharing this bottle. This was an aged bottle (at least 2-3 years) that was labeled as Uinta Bourbon Barrel Barley Wine, but it is the same beer as Cockeyed Copper.

The beer pours a red-amber color with a tan head. The aroma is bourbon with some oak and dark fruit notes. The flavor is caramel, toffee, oak, bourbon and some alcohol. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.